Wireless devices, such as smart phones, often connect automatically to different Wi-Fi hotspots as the devices move from one location to another location. These hotspots are often provided for free by various businesses such as coffee shops, restaurants, and hotels. When a wireless device initially attempts to browse to a web page (e.g., Google.com), the hotspot provider's access point may cause the user's browser to be redirected to a web page promoting the hotspot provider (e.g., Starbucks.com). This web page is typically referred to as a welcome page. This brief marketing opportunity is beneficial to the hotspot provider.
However, some hotspots do not support these welcome pages. In addition, the welcome page is only displayed immediately after the user connects to the hotspot via a browser. There are no updated messages pushed to the user during the hotspot session. Further, many newer hotspots do not use a web browser for authentication. Therefore, the browser redirection technique to present a welcome page does not work.